Robert Zepp (born September 7, 1981) is a Canadian-born German former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played 10 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2014–15 season. The rest of his career, which lasted rom 2001 to 2015, was mainly spent in Europe, playing two seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga for SaiPa and seven seasons in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga for Eisbären Berlin. Internationally Zepp, a naturalized German citizen, played for the German national team at three World Championships.
| Rob Zepp | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Zepp in 2024 | |||
| Born |
September 7, 1981 Newmarket, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 194 lb (88 kg; 13 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Left | ||
| Played for |
SaiPa Eisbären Berlin Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| National team |
 Germany | ||
| NHL draft |
99th overall, 1999 Atlanta Thrashers 110th overall, 2001 Carolina Hurricanes | ||
| Playing career | 2001–2015 | ||
Playing career
editBorn in Newmarket, Ontario, Zepp played junior hockey for the Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). During three standout years with the high-flying Whalers, Zepp was awarded the Dave Pinkney Trophy three years running as a part of the goaltending duo in OHL with the lowest goals against average (GAA). In his first season with the Whalers, Zepp was also awarded the Bobby Smith Trophy as the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year who best combines high standards of play and academic excellence and the CHL Scholastic Player of the Year Award.
Zepp was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the fourth round, 99th overall, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He never signed a contract with the Thrashers and was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in round 4, 110th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He played from 2001 until 2005 with the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) before deciding to play in Europe, joining SaiPa of the Finnish SM-liiga, where he played two seasons. He then joined Eisbären Berlin in 2007.[1]
On July 1, 2014, Zepp returned to North America by signing a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[2] On December 21, Zepp made his NHL debut against the Winnipeg Jets at the age of 33.[3] Wearing jersey number 72, he made 25 saves out of 28 shots on goal to lead the Flyers to a 4–3 overtime victory.
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1997–98 | Newmarket Hurricanes | OPJHL | 3 | — | — | — | — | 181 | 13 | 0 | 4.31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 31 | 19 | 3 | 4 | — | 1662 | 76 | 3 | 2.74 | .907 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 100 | 10 | 0 | 6.00 | .815 | ||
| 1999–00 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 53 | 36 | 11 | 3 | — | 3005 | 119 | 3 | 2.38 | .903 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 1374 | 52 | 2 | 2.27 | .846 | ||
| 2000–01 | Plymouth Whalers | OHL | 55 | 34 | 18 | 3 | — | 3246 | 122 | 4 | 2.26 | .922 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 1139 | 51 | 2 | 2.69 | .892 | ||
| 2001–02 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | — | 739 | 41 | 0 | 3.33 | .902 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 41 | 20 | 13 | 7 | — | 2372 | 112 | 3 | 2.83 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 303 | 16 | 1 | 3.16 | .922 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 124 | 7 | 0 | 3.40 | .892 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 35 | 14 | 13 | 7 | — | 2052 | 101 | 0 | 2.95 | .921 | 12 | 8 | 3 | 683 | 31 | 1 | 2.72 | .911 | ||
| 2004–05 | Florida Everblades | ECHL | 26 | 11 | 10 | 2 | — | 1414 | 63 | 2 | 2.67 | .910 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | SaiPa | FIN | 44 | 18 | 16 | — | 9 | 2501 | 85 | 4 | 2.04 | .929 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 526 | 20 | 0 | 2.28 | .913 | ||
| 2006–07 | SaiPa | FIN | 24 | 8 | 11 | — | 4 | 1278 | 70 | 0 | 3.29 | .893 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | SaPKo | FIN-2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 60 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 | .880 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 41 | 28 | 12 | — | 0 | 2447 | 107 | 2 | 2.62 | .902 | 14 | 10 | 4 | — | 34 | 0 | 2.36 | .909 | ||
| 2008–09 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 43 | 28 | 15 | — | 0 | 2569 | 108 | 2 | 2.52 | .916 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 737 | 26 | 2 | 2.12 | .924 | ||
| 2009–10 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 50 | 39 | 11 | — | 0 | 2975 | 130 | 5 | 2.62 | .912 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 293 | 15 | 0 | 3.07 | .889 | ||
| 2010–11 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 43 | 24 | 16 | — | 0 | 2493 | 100 | 2 | 2.41 | .913 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 738 | 32 | 0 | 2.60 | .911 | ||
| 2011–12 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 42 | 26 | 14 | — | 0 | 2430 | 95 | 4 | 2.35 | .921 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | 1.69 | .941 | ||
| 2012–13 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 46 | 25 | 21 | — | 0 | 2777 | 127 | 5 | 2.74 | .921 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 760 | 36 | 0 | 2.84 | .919 | ||
| 2013–14 | Eisbären Berlin | DEL | 38 | 24 | 14 | — | 0 | 2255 | 90 | 1 | 2.39 | .931 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 185 | 6 | 1 | 1.94 | .943 | ||
| 2014–15 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 10 | 5 | 2 | — | 0 | 520 | 25 | 0 | 2.89 | .888 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 47 | 21 | 20 | — | 4 | 2734 | 122 | 0 | 2.68 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 10 | 5 | 2 | — | 0 | 520 | 25 | 0 | 2.89 | .888 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Germany | WC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 117 | 3 | 0 | 1.54 | .957 | |
| 2013 | Germany | WC | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 302 | 9 | 2 | 1.79 | .941 | |
| 2013 | Germany | WC | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 244 | 13 | 0 | 3.20 | .856 | |
| Senior totals | 11 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 663 | 25 | 0 | 2.26 | .920 | |||
Awards and honours
edit| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| Ontario Hockey League | |
| Dave Pinkney Trophy | 1999, 2000, 2001 |
| Bobby Smith Trophy | 1999 |
| CHL Scholastic Player of the Year | 1999 |
| Second All-Star Team | 2000, 2001 |
References
edit- ^ "Zepp remains with Polar Bears". Eisbären Berlin (in German). May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2011.
- ^ "Flyers re-sign goaltender Ray Emery". Philadelphia Flyers. July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
- ^ "Flyers goalie Zepp to make NHL debut against Jets". NHL.com. December 21, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database